Urchin PR
New Member
Foggy Notions & Choice Cuts present
BLK JKS
& special guests DJs:
DJ SCOPE & DAVID KITT
Whelan’s, Dublin, Wed August 20, 8pm
Tix: www.tickets.ie, Ticketmaster, WAV [lo-call 1890 200 078], City Discs & Road Records
“Blk Jks are the sound of a new South Africa…you'd be hard pushed to find a better example of the post-apartheid nation's new cultural momentum and boundary-breaking sensibility.” – The Observer
“BLK JKS cast a dub-fuelled psychedelic Afro-blues spell that connects music freedom fighters worldwide.” – Dazed & Confused
“A group that sometimes make punk and other times make ska and are sometimes totally unclassifiable, but more importantly, they make JAMS with shocking consistency.” – Fader
Two of Ireland’s leading independent promoters have teamed up for the first time ever to present you something very special. BLK JKS (pronounced Black Jacks) from Johannesburg, South Africa, are arguably the most exciting new twist in the ever-evolving world of African music.
Drawing on traditional African elements, art-rock, dub and funk, BLK JKS represents the sound of post-apartheid South Africa – a sound that resonates from their homeland townships to Diplo DJ sets to the pages of hipster magazines like Dazed & Confused and Fader. In fact, Fader magazine are so in love with BLK JKS they put them on the cover and sparred them with Malawi superstar-in-the-making Esau Mwamwaya on their limited edition Southern Comfort seven inch series.
Childhood friends Linda and Mpumi grew up on the same block in Johannesburg’s East Rand, where they taught themselves guitar. Forming a band in 2000, early BLK JKS shows and recordings were remarkable for their stacks of guitar drone and head nodding beats, but it was with the addition of bassist Molefi and drummer Tshepang, both of Soweto, that BLK JKS began work with a fresh approach and plunged into its current universe of sound.
“Rock was always seen as a white thing, the music of the enemy,” says guitarist Mpumi Mcata. “When we started, we encountered a lot of hostility. Soon, though, people realised that what we were making was far more in tune with what's going on in South Africa now than any of the pop music playing on the radio.”
The November 2007 release of the Lakeside vinyl-only 10 inch marks the band’s international debut with a limited edition of 500 selling at some of the world's best record shops. The Mystery EP that resulted is available now as a vinyl/digital release.
“Listening to BLK JKS is kind of like taking a slow cruise through Jozi with your windows rolled down. Afro-jazz riffs segue into tribal rhythms, which swagger through street-level sociology before exploding into hardcore bursts of noise, kwaai kwaito beats and addictive rock hooks. It’s not funk rock. It’s not punk rock. It’s not indie rock. It’s just music, and it’ll infect your mind if you let it.” - Miles Keylock Between Rock And The Rainbow Nation
www.myspace.com/blkjks
http://blkjks.blogspot.com
BLK JKS
& special guests DJs:
DJ SCOPE & DAVID KITT
Whelan’s, Dublin, Wed August 20, 8pm
Tix: www.tickets.ie, Ticketmaster, WAV [lo-call 1890 200 078], City Discs & Road Records
“Blk Jks are the sound of a new South Africa…you'd be hard pushed to find a better example of the post-apartheid nation's new cultural momentum and boundary-breaking sensibility.” – The Observer
“BLK JKS cast a dub-fuelled psychedelic Afro-blues spell that connects music freedom fighters worldwide.” – Dazed & Confused
“A group that sometimes make punk and other times make ska and are sometimes totally unclassifiable, but more importantly, they make JAMS with shocking consistency.” – Fader
Two of Ireland’s leading independent promoters have teamed up for the first time ever to present you something very special. BLK JKS (pronounced Black Jacks) from Johannesburg, South Africa, are arguably the most exciting new twist in the ever-evolving world of African music.
Drawing on traditional African elements, art-rock, dub and funk, BLK JKS represents the sound of post-apartheid South Africa – a sound that resonates from their homeland townships to Diplo DJ sets to the pages of hipster magazines like Dazed & Confused and Fader. In fact, Fader magazine are so in love with BLK JKS they put them on the cover and sparred them with Malawi superstar-in-the-making Esau Mwamwaya on their limited edition Southern Comfort seven inch series.
Childhood friends Linda and Mpumi grew up on the same block in Johannesburg’s East Rand, where they taught themselves guitar. Forming a band in 2000, early BLK JKS shows and recordings were remarkable for their stacks of guitar drone and head nodding beats, but it was with the addition of bassist Molefi and drummer Tshepang, both of Soweto, that BLK JKS began work with a fresh approach and plunged into its current universe of sound.
“Rock was always seen as a white thing, the music of the enemy,” says guitarist Mpumi Mcata. “When we started, we encountered a lot of hostility. Soon, though, people realised that what we were making was far more in tune with what's going on in South Africa now than any of the pop music playing on the radio.”
The November 2007 release of the Lakeside vinyl-only 10 inch marks the band’s international debut with a limited edition of 500 selling at some of the world's best record shops. The Mystery EP that resulted is available now as a vinyl/digital release.
“Listening to BLK JKS is kind of like taking a slow cruise through Jozi with your windows rolled down. Afro-jazz riffs segue into tribal rhythms, which swagger through street-level sociology before exploding into hardcore bursts of noise, kwaai kwaito beats and addictive rock hooks. It’s not funk rock. It’s not punk rock. It’s not indie rock. It’s just music, and it’ll infect your mind if you let it.” - Miles Keylock Between Rock And The Rainbow Nation
www.myspace.com/blkjks
http://blkjks.blogspot.com
